Communities of Practice
Circle Time: DSL--Digital as a Second Language (Members Only)
Judie Haynes
English language learners, even those who have exited from ESL programs, are experiencing great difficulty with the writing section of the tests mandated by many U.S. states. How can you prepare them for standardized testing and, at the same time, keep them engaged in and excited about learning?

Out of the Box
¿Qué Pasa with Bilingualism in North Central Florida? (Members Only)
Maria R. Coady
No one in school has ever asked Morelia if she can read or write in Spanish, and the school owns few bilingual books. Implicitly and explicitly, her bilingual abilities are devalued. This reflects an ideology of equality--using the same language, English, in all communication with parents and students. In contrast, an ideology based on equitable education responds to the linguistic and cultural needs of students.

Portal
My Adventure in Podland (Members Only)
Cristina Costa
For the adult learners in my class, making mistakes in a language class was not an option: they did not want to look bad in front of their peers. Creating podcasts gave the students speaking practice and generated enthusiasm for the class. Best of all, podcasting was easy, teacher-friendly, and appropriate for adults.

Home and Other Pages
Software Thumbnails: The Compleat Lexical Tutor (Members Only)
Tom Cobb
Reviewed by Elizabeth Hanson-Smith
The fascinating and free Compleat Lexical Tutor has far more to offer than just a concordancer. The value lies in the many ways students can use the results of a corpus search on this feature-rich site.

President’s Message, December 2006

From the Editor

About Essential Teacher (M)

Essential Teacher, which ceased publication in October 2009, offers columns by practitioners in various communities of practice; articles on teaching practices, reflections, and perspectives; material reviews; and association news. The archive is available online as a member resource.

The archive of Essential Teacher is a resource for language teachers and administrators in varied ESL and EFL workplaces, including pre-K-12, 2- and 4-year institutions of higher learning, and adult education. Each of these arenas has teachers with varied experience and expertise, making for a broad and diverse readership. Essential Teacher also offers guidance to mainstream teachers who work with students for whom English is an additional language.

Compleat Links is an online complement to Essential Teacher. This section offers original articles, interviews, and other content thematically linked to Essential Teacher.

Unfortunately, Essential Teacher is no longer accepting submissions. The farewell issue of ET was published in October of 2009.

However, you may be interested in submitting to TESOL Journal, which has replaced ET as a member benefit. You can find submission guidelines and details about the journal at www.tesol.org/tj, and you can submit electronically at www.editorialmanager.com/tj.

To read more about the changes to and benefits of TESOL Publications, click here.

Contents